Less testing, more hands-on learning

Chicago Public Schools are right to scale back standardized tests. Endless testing encourages rote learning and obedience at the expense of new ideas. It certainly won’t develop the generation of inventors and free thinkers we need to propel our economies.

Fewer tests, plus the integration of engineering in the next generation science standards, will give Chicago students the chance to step out of the repetitious rigmarole and learn through discovery, taking things apart to understand how they work, making mistakes and pursuing their own creations. But not at the expense of academic success. On the Nation’s Report Card, students completing hands-on science activities once a week scored 13 points higher than their hands-off peers.

Chicago organizations are already demonstrating the value of failure and hands-on learning out of school. Chicago’s Kids Science Labs’ incredible team get children excited about everyday science experiments and students can build their own prototypes at Fab Lab in Chicago’s Museum of Science Industry. Less testing and more time gives Chicago teachers the chance to try these things in the classroom. Young people are interested in how things work. It’s our job to show them how.